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Wetpixel Quarterly Collector’s edition boxes are shipping now, but we have decided to extend the pre-sale through Friday…order now to get the sale price! We have an extremely limited quantity of the pre-stuffed boxes left, so get them while you can. Makes a great holiday gift for the underwater enthusiast!

This archival, anodized aluminum box, with laser-engraved artwork, will store and show off your first four issues of WPQ in style. The WPQ Collector’s Box features lift-off lids, are fully archival and feature finger notches on the sides to facilitate removal of the lids. Issue #3 is already officially sold out and issue #2 is running dangerously close, so this is now your only way to get them!

A story by Wetpixel’s Shawn Heinrichs is featured on the home page of CNN today, recounting his first encounter with shark finning and following with his views on the importance of sharks and the devastating impact of the practice.

Shawn recently teamed up with CNN’s Anderson Cooper team to help them uncover and expose the gruesome realities of the shark fin trade. His work will be included in their award-winning documentary Planet in Peril this year which examines the conflict between growing populations and natural resources. The full two-hour documentary airs tomorrow night, December 11, at 9pm EST on CNN.

When contemplating the combination of several events, or a single important one (such as a dive trip), we literally or mentally “cross our fingers” to ward off anything that might interfere with with our plans. When leaving nothing to chance, it’s important to remember that chance is still part of the equation. Even the things over which we have control still have a bit of chance in them.

In my case, while preparing for that maiden voyage with my very own housing, and despite exhaustive finger-crossing, and meticulous planning, something went wrong…

Nikon has announced its new flagship professional DSLR, the D3X. The new full frame sensor (24.5 megapixels) contains double the number of photosites of its predecessor, the D3, but remaining specifications are unchanged for the most part.

The camera produces 50MB 14-bit RAW files that can be converted into 140MB TIFFs. The D3X supports an ISO range from ISO 100-1600, extendable down to ISO 50 and up to 6400 equivalent with up to 5 fps continuous shooting at full resolution, or 7 fps in the 10MP DX-crop mode. The estimated street price is US$ 7,995.95.

Sperm whales are the largest carnivores on the planet. They have big teeth and can be highly inquisitive. There are inherent risks involved with interacting with large predators like sperm whales. The areas where we will be looking for sperm whales are deep ocean, with no land nearby. There can be big swells, and occasionally big fish that swim by to check us out. To join this trip, you need to be a confident/ strong swimmer/ snorkeller in deep, open ocean, and you need to be comfortable with the prospect of facing large, potentially aggressive, open-ocean animals.

I’ve used Aquatica housings in the past, having purchased and reviewed for Wetpixel an S2pro housing in 2003, and also reviewed the Kodak ProSLRn housing, and then finally the Canon 5D housing in 2006.

Naturally, I was interested when Jean Bruneau emailed me to see if I would “test pilot” their new housing for Canon’s 21 megapixel “monster” the 1DsMkIII. To summarize in one sentence, Aquatica has moved forward “light years” since their first DSLR housings for the D100 and S2 Pro…

Wetpixel editor Eric Cheng and professional underwater photographer Tony Wu are leading back-to-back trips to Papua New Guinea’s Eastern Fields in late 2009! Join us on the M/V Golden Dawn for diving in one of the most productive and remote locations on the planet.

The Los Angeles Underwater Photographic Society (LAUPS) has announced the winners of their 46th Annual International Underwater Photographic Competition. Congratulations to Denis Palbiani for winning best in show for his beautiful photograph “Lady” of a hermaphroditic Mediterranean nudibranch.

Among the award winners are plenty of familiar Wetpixel names - you can view the winning photographs and videos here.

Popular Wetpixel member and filmmaker, Dean Burman, popped up on UK televisions last night on the BBC’s One Show, a half-hour eclectic magazine program that is broadcast on BBC 1 each week night at 7pm, which attracts audiences of over 5 million. Dean was interviewed by Miranda Krestovnikoff and followed on a dive off the Welsh coast for a feature on the plight of sharks in British Waters.

For those who missed the show, you can watch it on the BBC iPlayer during the next week (episode: Monday (24/11/08), fast forward to 23:55 to see Dean’s piece), iPlayer is currently only available to UK IP addresses.